Childhood Reminiscences

As a child, waking up to the smell of "Macheteadas" or "Fritas" on a Sunday morning was the best feeling in the world. Whenever my friends slept over, we were absolutely having Macheteadas for breakfast the next day. My grandma passed on this typical honduran recipe to my mother and I recently attempted to learn how to make them. Making them is a step by step process, but  I can assure you it's not hard. When we were younger, my brothers and I used to make all sorts of deliciously, unhealthy, sugary inventions to top our Macheteadas. Some of these inventions were the following:

• sweetened condensed milk
• sweetened condensed milk and chocolate syrup
• whipped cream
• honey or maple syrup
• dulce de leche or caramel (not as easy to find back then as it is now)
• powdered sugar and strawberries (my personal favorite)**

Macheteadas

Makes approximately: 12 macheteadas

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp oil
• approximately 1/4 cup milk

Directions:

1. Mix all of the dry ingredients together. 
2. Add the egg and oil to the dry ingredients. Mix them well. 
3. Slowly add in the milk until a firm dough is formed. 
4. Let the dough rest for about 10 minutes. Then divide the dough and make 12 even balls. 
5. Use a roller to stretch out the balls one at a time, adding flour regularly so that the dough does not stick. 
6. Cut 3 lines on the flattened dough. Then add to a heated skillet with oil
7. Let the dough fry until golden. After they are well cooked, remove them from the skillet and let them rest on paper towels to reduce the excess of oil on them. 
8. Serve and enjoy! 

Preppy and Pink

{Forever21 bracelets, and LOFT earrings}

Fridays are without a doubt the reason behind my motivation to end every week on the right foot. After a long, stressful, tedious, tiresome, long, monotonous, long, and-did I mention long?-week has passed, the best way to finish the week is by going out and acting like the teenager that I am. As a bonus, this Friday was a day off from school, and I was invited to two different events-a quinceañera (15th birthday) party and a "congratulations you graduated and have to face the tough reality of life, but, oh, I'm glad you're home" celebration. Don't get me wrong, I had a blast at both events and I wouldn't have it any other way. 

Finding an outfit that matched both occasions was a little challenging, but as I was hastily searching for something to wear through my closet, I encountered this gorgeous dress that I haven't worn in a while. I bought it at a small boutique at the mall and it is definitely one of my favorite components in my wardrobe. I decided to pair this dress with nude platform heels, a sparkling necklace, a nude handbag, jingling bracelets, and a simple night-time make-up look.  

{Da'Lila (a boutique in Honduras) dress, ALDO shoes, Louis Vuitton handbag}

{Forever21 collar necklace}

{Make-up: foundation, blush, purple eye-liner, mascara, liquid liner, and lilac eye-shadow}

Casually Polished

Being a sophomore and turning sixteen seemed like decades away. Now, sophomore year has begun and so has the birthday season. One of my life-long guy friends turned sixteen a couple weekends ago and I decided to wear this outfit. The weather was the perfect excuse to dress down my girly outfit with a classic denim jacket. I still can't grasp the fact that in a few weeks I'm gonna be the next new sixteen year-old sophomore. 

{Maybelline The Falsies mascara, LANCOME foundation and lipstick, L'OREAL True Match neutral blush and Espresso-colored eye-liner}

{Forever 21 tank top, skirt, and bracelets, H&M jean jacket, ALDO heels and necklace, ZARA handbag, vintage earrings}

Little Things

As an OCD victim, I have found it hard to take my time to meditate on what life has offered me. Juggling between my sophomore year, ballet lessons, piano lessons, and social encounters has unfortunately limited my time writing on my blog. However, I am glad to come back and share some of the things currently making me happy, such as: homemade blueberry muffins, a romantically beautiful bouquet of flowers, Divergent by Veronica Roth, a simple yet exquisitely healthy salad, and the perfect little coffee treat to end the week just right. 

(If you're following me on twitter, these pictures might be a little familiar to you). 

{Last Sunday's baking: Mouth-watering homemade mini blueberry muffins}

{A sparkling Saturday night dinner accompanied by a beautiful center piece and a Louis Vuitton handbag}

{New addiction: Divergent from Veronica Roth's saga}

{Healthy, delightful, and homemade salad during lunch at school: Spinach, cucumber, edamame, strawberries, and Balsamic Vinaigrette}

{Homemade Almond Milk Cappuccino & Pirouline Chocolate Hazelnut wafers on a rainy Friday afternoon}

Flourless Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Crunchy, chewy, and delicious. An all-time granny classic and one of my favorite comfort foods in the world-Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. Flipping through recipe books and scrolling down through my Pinterest page, I made up my mind and decided to bake a batch of homemade oatmeal raisin cookies. To my surprise, these cookies were extremely easy to make. Even better, according to Chocolate Covered Katie, each cookie has only about 50 calories (guilt-free, gluten-free). These are perfect for anytime you're craving something sweet and you want it fast, yet you don't want to feel the thousand-calorie guilt afterwards. They are also perfect for improvised desserts, midnight snacking, or simply as a side to a warm, soothing cup of coffee.

Flourless Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Baking Time: Approximately 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees
This recipe makes about 10-12 tablespoon sized cookies.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp and 2 tsp white granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp raisins
• 1 tbsp oil or melted butter
• 1-2 tbsp milk of choice (start with 1. I used almond milk)

Directions:

In an electric mixer, blend together the dry ingredients. Then, add in the butter and milk. Form into tablespoon-sized cookies and place them on a greased cooking sheet. Bake for about 8 to 10 minutes at 350 degrees F. 

 

Little Things

Starting a new school year can be stressful; however, I am so excited about everything this year has to offer to my sophomore  class. Some of my goals this year are the following: 

1. Learn how to drive (since I'm turning 16 soon)

2. Get good grades (I usually have a 99% year average cause I'm cool like that)

3. Make new friends and create tighter bonds with my family and friends 

4. Don't stress; enjoy life as much as possible

5. I have to come up with a few more...

This post is a round up of my favorites from last weekend (the fro-yo and the first outfit) and this weekend (the second outfit and the dressing).

{Quick Fro-Yo date with my mom. Original flavor topped with blueberries.}

{Sushi night out with friends. I wore a Forever21 blouse and jeans, Old Navy brown cardigan, LOFT necklace.}

{Saturday's outfit: Forever21 tshirt and jeans, H&M jean jacket, vintage necklace}

{Dinner date with my amazing brother. Currently obsessed with this dressing. Sugar Free Raspberry Vinaigrette}

Back To School: Cosmetic Bag

I am a bit of a control freak. I like to always be prepared for anything, get things done ahead of time, etc, etc. So as you can imagine I already prepared my cosmetic bag for the first day back to school. All of these things make life so much easier for me at school. The solution to a sweaty P.E. class, a bad cold, bad cramps, a bad hair day, and even a bad breath can be found in my beautiful Forever21 cosmetic bag. 

My back to school cosmetic bag consists of the following: 

• Hand moisturizing cream {Bath & Body Works Cherry Blossom}
• Splash {Bath & Body Works Cherry Blossom}
• Hand Sanitizer {Bath & Body Works Vanilla Berry Sorbet}
• Lip Balm {Burt's Bees Natural Beeswax Lip Balm} 
• Nail Files {Forever21}
• Bobby Pins
• Hair Ties 
• Blotting Papers {Up&Up Oil-Absorbing Sheets}
• Ibuprofen Pills {Advil}
• Kleenex Carry-Along Pack
• Breath Mints {Altoids}
• Gum {Eclipse}

{Lip balm, hand moisturizing cream, splash, hand sanitizer, nail files, bobby pins, hair ties, blotting papers}

 

{Ibuprofen, Kleenex Carry-Along Pack}

{Breath Mints & Gum}